Thursday, April 23, 2009

"One Vision Only"

I just finished reading the biography of Isobel Kuhn, "One Vision Only" by Carolyn Canfield. Isobel was a missionary (approximately 1930-1960) in China for many years and Thailand for a few years after that. Her motto for every aspect of life was "God First". That is exactly how she lived her life. With her husband, John, they accomplished great things for God, sacrificing time with each other and with their children. It was amazing to read about how God used her and met her needs. Unlike many missionary biographies, it does not romanticize the mission field. It tells of the hardships that are sometimes endured by serving God. Likewise, it shows that there is no better way to live than serving God. Neither does it make Isobel appear to be perfect...she wasn't, neither are we. It's encouraging to read about people that serve God in spite of their failings. How God can bless when we humble ourselves before Him, confess our sins, and trust Him to do the work!

3 comments:

hi!found your blog thru someone elses who i found thru another blog ... isn't that the way it happens? lately the Lord has been putting brazil on our hearts. my husband did a college paper on brazil and ever since then we have fallen in love with the country and the people from afar. we are studying portugese on our own and hope someday to visit and possibly even live there. we don't consider ourselves missionaries, but would rather like to spread Jesus' light wherever we are and live.

i have been wanting to read some missionary biographies and haven't found any at our christian bookstore or library. haven't tried amazon yet tho. do you have any other titles you would recommend? i'm esp interested in south american missions.

Hi Gail! Welcome! I'm glad to hear that you are interested in Brazil! Portuguese is not an easy language to learn, especially on your own! I enjoy reading missionary biographies. Solomon Ginsburg was one of the first missionaries to Brazil. Anything that you can find by him or about him, you're sure to enjoy. I can also recommend "Evidence Not Seen" by Darlene Rose and the biography of C.T. Studd. Feel free to check out our website: reachingbrazil.com.